John Brumbaugh

Navigating a college campus is no easy task for incoming freshmen.

But the experience is a whole new playing field for one that is visually impaired.

Katelin Archer came to Central Michigan University this fall with her guide dog, a German shepherd name Norris, and said she can testify to the daily challenges of being a college student with limited vision.

The Pennsylvania freshman has learned to create a map of campus in her mind, not based on familiar sights but rather by recognizable sounds.

“It’s really weird to trust a dog with your life,” Archer said. “It’s like, ‘You’re a dog, you eat things out of a bowl on the ground, and I am trusting you?’”

Archer was born completely blind, but her eyesight has improved to 20/200 vision with contacts. She can make out basic shapes on a sunny day, but rain and snow pose special challenges.

Suzie Pletcher-Rood, director of Student Disability Services, described Archer’s process of learning to navigate campus as one of flexibility and repetition. She said upon coming to campus, visually impaired students go through mobility training, where she or Jerry Dominowski, coordinator of Adaptive Technologies for Disability Services, walk around and familiarize students with the area.

“(Disability Services) breaks the campus up into four quadrants – North, South, East and West,” she said. “We find something identifiable for them in each quadrant so they can identify the area.”

Archer lives in the Fabiano area, and can usually hear sounds from the Education and Human Services Building’s on-going construction when she’s nearby.

“In the center of campus, (Archer) can listen to the fountain across from the UC and can figure ‘this is where I am, this is where I go,’” Pletcher-Rood said.

Preparing for college

Archer’s preparations for college life began well before she chose to attend CMU. She had her name on a waiting list for a guide dog almost a year ago, knowing that college would be in her future. Archer traveled to New York City two weeks before moving to Mount Pleasant and spent 26 days training with Norris at a school for guide dogs.

She said Norris had already undergone a rigorous year-long training schedule to ensure he had the necessary skills and discipline to assist her.

“Sixty to 70 percent of guide dogs fail out because they can’t handle the training,” she said. “I completely rocked (Norris’) world twice in a row (by bringing him home). We went straight from the kennel to my house in Pennsylvania and then here. (Norris) was a little confused and didn’t understand the whole class thing at first, but we had lectures on most days at the guide dog school, so he was used to that.”

Starting at CMU

Archer moved to CMU right before classes started and immediately realized the adjustment would not be a walk in the park. One of her first challenges was learning to accommodate Norris’ needs in a new city. Crystal Schrader, Archer’s roommate, remembers helping her look for a groomer and a veterinarian in Mount Pleasant.

“(Archer) not only had to look for things for herself when coming to a new city, but also for an animal,” the Sturgis junior said.

She remembered going in search of a place to bathe Norris and discovering a self-serve dog wash.

“It’s not like you can exactly put him in the shower; that would be a disaster,” she said. “We had to find a place off campus.”

Another ongoing challenge for Archer is finding her way around CMU.

“I realized everything is laid out in much the same way,” she said. “I remember one day trying to get from Fabiano to the HP Building and somehow ending up over near Grawn. I still don’t know how that happened.”

Over time, Norris has helped Archer adjust to the campus layout. The two act as a team.

“(Archer) takes things in stride and goes with the flow,” Schrader said.

On a recent afternoon, Archer and Norris walked together from the Charles V. Park Library to Finch Fieldhouse. As Archer approached the library steps, Norris automatically stopped to indicate the obstacle ahead.

“Her tone when she talks to him is very different in and out of his (guide dog) harness,” Pletcher-Rood said, as she too accompanied Archer and Norris for a short while. “He has to know when he’s working, so he stops in front of the steps and she won’t go pitching down.”

As the two approached a busy intersection in front of the library, the dog patiently stopped and waited as cars pulled out from all directions.

Pletcher-Rood explained Norris will wait at least 30 seconds after all cars have stopped before prompting Archer to move ahead.

“People drive and get impatient,” she said, indicating a red car waiting for Archer to cross that eventually pulled out when Archer did not move right away. “They don’t understand she can’t see,” she said.

Pletcher-Rood explained how different it is for Norris to be working in a college setting as opposed to a typical suburban area.

“Colleges are very difficult for working dogs. They are out of their element, so there are many more dangers. Think about going to a party,” she said. “If the dog were to get a hold of a beer bottle, he’d be dead.”

Daily life

Archer and Norris have worked out such a schedule that Norris understands, where she needs to be at certain points throughout the day. If the two walk into Pearce Hall, Norris automatically heads for Room 215, where Archer has a class. If she walks into the library, the dog will lead her right to Disability Services. Although Norris has many of the familiar paths down, Archer said his skills do have limitations.

“If I go into the wrong door in Pearce or enter on the wrong side of a building, I would never find the class,” she said. Archer has also realized she should not take Norris to some social events, like football games.

“The cannon would make him flip out; other than that, he really doesn’t bark,” she said.

Student reactions

Living with a guide dog at CMU is often a challenge in itself, Archer said.

Students react differently to Archer because of her dog.

“When walking past a person, I know in two seconds how they feel (about my dog),” she said. “They either swear, are petrified and scream, or reach down to pet him and think he’s cute. People like to grab his face. I’ll be holding onto his handle, telling him to turn, and I’m like, ‘C’mon, people, I’m trying to get to class,” she said.

Students often will make comments when she reprimands Norris, not understanding that constructive discipline is an integral part of living with a guide dog.

“I gave him a correction one time and the whole hall was like, ‘What are you doing?,”‘ she said. “People see you and overreact completely, but it’s like get hit by a car, or give him a correction. I’d much rather people just ask than think about me.”

news@cm-life.com

E-mail the author: Heidi Fenton